Apeksha Niranjan: Pushing boundaries with unique Bharatanatyam performances
Meet Apeksha Niranjan, whose world revolves around classical dance. Today, she is a renowned Bharatanatyam dancer, teacher, choreographer, and Marathi film actor. She also teaches dance in different countries and has represented India on various global platforms. NewsBytes caught up with her in a candid chat ahead of her Bharatnatyam recital on Marathi abhang happening on June 24 in Navi Mumbai.
How did you develop a passion for dance?
From my childhood, I just remember dancing. After seeing my interest in dance, my mother enrolled me in a Kathak class initially. Since I liked Bharatanatyam, I studied it too as a hobby class. Meanwhile, my parents also encouraged me to watch dance programs on television every Sunday morning. Gradually I started to enjoy Bharatanatyam more and took it up.
Did you always intend to teach dance abroad?
I loved to dance and wanted to dance everywhere. And it is the aim of my life to spread dance and art everywhere. And as I started performing, I started to get requests from people to take dance classes or workshops. Slowly I started getting over 200 students under me. And that is how it all happened organically.
How was the response to your performance abroad?
Foreigners were so fascinated to see the footwork because, unlike Western dance forms, Indian forms have lots of footwork, expressions, as well as rhythmic patterns. Most of the time they could resonate with emotions from the stories conveyed through Bharatanatyam performances. While mythological stories are new to them, the audience was interested in trying to understand the culture and art form.
How was it, performing at the DAP festival in Italy?
I was the only Indian girl there. All the others were dancers from the ballet style and contemporary style. During my performance, these dancers were surprised at how I managed to perform and do rhythmic movements while coordinating eye movements and hand gestures, all at the same time. I expressed, 'This is the beauty of Indian dance style.'
How did you get this unique opportunity?
It was during the COVID-19 pandemic that I received an email from them requesting me to send one of my dance videos. They uploaded the video I shared on their online festivals at that time, and it garnered some good responses. Following this, in 2021, they invited me to perform at their festival in Tuscany, Italy.
Tell us about incorporating Gregorian chants into your Bharatanatyam concert
I aimed to dispel the perception of Bharatanatyam as a complex dance form. So, I started to work on projects to make it simpler for people to understand. For instance, whenever I am in Europe, I try to perform Gregorian chants, which are about Mother Mary. The audience resonated with my performance upon recognizing the familiar chants but in a new way.
What keeps you going?
I feel loved when I get such amazing responses from people wherever I go. I feel the happiest when the audience, especially abroad, says that they understand or resonate with the dance style. That is a very satisfying response for me for the vision is to make it reach everyone. This kind of compliment gives me the energy to keep going.
Please shed some light on your upcoming project
This project holds immense significance, as I have been working on it very passionately. The Marathi abhang (devotional poetry) plays a very special role in the hearts of the Marathi people. I have conceptualized and incorporated the abhang into Bharatanatyam dance by preserving the beauty of the dance form. I feel people will connect with me better when I dance to their favorite music.
